Installation

Beamtalk is distributed as a pre-built binary for Linux, macOS, and Windows, plus a VS Code extension for the integrated development experience.

Requirements

• Erlang/OTP 27+ — the BEAM runtime that Beamtalk compiles to.
  • macOS: brew install erlang
  • Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install erlang
  • Windows: download from erlang.org/downloads
  • Any platform via asdf: asdf plugin add erlang && asdf install erlang 27.0
• VS Code 1.85+ — required for the extension (optional for CLI-only use).

Quick install (Linux and macOS)

The easiest way to install Beamtalk is with the install script:

curl -fsSL https://beamtalk.dev/install.sh | sh

This downloads the latest release for your platform, extracts it to ~/.beamtalk, and adds ~/.beamtalk/bin to your shell's PATH.

To install a specific version or custom location:

curl -fsSL https://beamtalk.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --version v0.3.1
curl -fsSL https://beamtalk.dev/install.sh | sh -s -- --prefix /usr/local

Manual install from release archive

Download the latest release for your platform from the GitHub Releases page.

Linux

beamtalk-<version>-linux-x86_64.tar.gz

Extract and add to your PATH:

tar xzf beamtalk-<version>-linux-x86_64.tar.gz
export PATH="$HOME/beamtalk-<version>/bin:$PATH"

macOS

beamtalk-<version>-macos-arm64.tar.gz    # Apple Silicon
beamtalk-<version>-macos-x86_64.tar.gz   # Intel

Extract and add to your PATH:

tar xzf beamtalk-<version>-macos-<arch>.tar.gz
export PATH="$HOME/beamtalk-<version>/bin:$PATH"

Windows

beamtalk-<version>-windows-x86_64.zip

Extract the zip, then add the bin\ directory to your PATH via System Properties → Environment Variables → Path → Edit, adding C:\Users\<you>\beamtalk-<version>\bin.

Verify

beamtalk --version
beamtalk doctor

The doctor command checks all prerequisites (Erlang/OTP version, erlc, runtime, stdlib) and prints actionable fix instructions for any problems.

VS Code extension

The Beamtalk VS Code extension provides syntax highlighting, an integrated REPL, live workspace bindings panel, and inline documentation.

1. Open VS Code and go to the Extensions panel (Ctrl+Shift+X).
2. Search for Beamtalk and click Install.
3. Reload the window when prompted.

Alternatively, install the .vsix from the GitHub Releases page:

code --install-extension beamtalk-vscode-<version>.vsix

Once installed, open any .bt file to activate the extension. The status bar will show the Beamtalk workspace connection status.

Quick start

Create a new project:

beamtalk new my-project
cd my-project

This sets up the standard project file structure. Then start the REPL:

beamtalk repl

Or open the project folder in VS Code — the extension will start a workspace automatically.

See Language Features for a tour of the language.

Troubleshooting

If beamtalk repl or beamtalk build fails with cryptic errors, run:

beamtalk doctor

This checks your environment and reports any issues with clear instructions on how to fix them. Common problems:

• Wrong OTP version — Beamtalk requires Erlang/OTP 27 or later.
• Missing erlc — usually installed alongside erl; reinstall Erlang if missing.
• Missing stdlib (development) — run just build from the repository root.
• Missing stdlib (installed) — reinstall Beamtalk via the install script or set BEAMTALK_RUNTIME_DIR to point to a valid sysroot.